Cotton picking device



Nov. 17, 1931.

N. T. kEsLx-:R ET AL COTTON PICKING- DEVICE Filed Sept. 30, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 1 I ll I@ L 2 QV /N VENT RIS TK? F ATTORNEY Nov. '17, 1931.N. T. KEsLER ET AL coTToN PIGKING DEVICE Filed Sept. 3Q, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR N. T. KeaLef T. fofly f. ATTORNEYS Patented Nov.17, 1931 eomfrongfricxiivexnnvicn @ur invention relates'to improvementsin 'cotton picking devices, and; it Vconsists-in the combinations,constructions, 'and arrangements herein described and claimed.

Vcotton picking ldevice in which novel `Vfinger means is provided'for'-picking cotton from balls and. in which means; is rovided forveffectively'manipulating the= ngers in such a "I0 manner that amaXimumfamoun't /oi'jcotton isremoved from theplant. Y

A further obgect is to provide ickino' device em lo 7inw-atubeforconveying the picked cotton, and in Whichjnovel i 'rmeans is provided`for actuating 'thelinger means and for cooperating .Witliother'meansWithin the tube for moving the cotton 'rear'- A. further objectA s toprovide a'cotton pick',-

'n l'20 ing device in which the number of'moving parts has beenire/duced to 4aminimumEnid in which the partsare so arranged tliaftftlielatter o'fer a minimum oi re'sistancetothe cotton moving Within thetube, thereby provid- .$135 ing a device which isrelativelyfree fromdanger of plugging'and'the like.

A further obj ect is 'topr'ovideia cottonpifek. ving device of a typearranged tobe easily-*and quickly opened ior inspection, etc.

features of theV invention will' be particularly pointed outin theappended `claims;y f Our invention is' illustrated `in the accom*-panying drawings, forming partici? ythis apg.

Figure 1 is a side elevation' o fiour device,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detailvievv oi' a portion of our device,

'1 "0 VFigure 3 is a sectional view takenralong the line 3-3of FigureQ,Y

` Figure e is a completement of the structure shown in Figure' 2,

igure 5 is an enlarged detail vievvof the 45 ingeraetuat1ng mechanisnu s`Figure 6 is a detailhvievv of fingers. 'Y Figure 7 is an enlargedsectional-viewl vof dour device taken along the l11ie`7 `7 ofFig.-

'one of the lApplication sied september 39,1929.A serial No. 396,364.

An object of lour invention is toV provide 'a ther obj eets andadvantages 'v vilfl appear inv the vfollowing speciica'tion, andthenovel- `fin construction With the teeth associatedV v With ,thefra'cksf9".v InFigure 5 wehaveshown y Figure-8 a transverse sectional viewtaken along .the line 8+8 of Figure l2,1

Y Figure 9 is a sectionalvievvtaken alongthe llne'9j-9 'of IFigure'Q,and

ligu-re -,l0-isa .diagrammatic vie-Wrote n3 Whichmay be used inconjunction vWith 'our-device@ f. Y vs 'f `-In lcarryingoutourinvention,'We make use of a tube 1 comprising sections 12' and 3. Y These sectionsarefhi'nged togetheras fat 4. 1 One end ofthe 'tube' is provided Withaflange 5, the purpose -of'vvhich Will be defi-ned moreAfullyfherei-nafter. The tube lis providedwith aplura-litylo'f ribs 6,see Figures-1,`5,Yand'7. The-ribs arespaced apart and provide bearinglmeans for a Vgripping member 7. yThe ftube is provided with apluralityofslots ivhichdareicut in the `tube betweenthe ribs 16. The'slots are Isomewhat' 'shorter than the yifelatively small teeth 4as2113,12. .All of the teeth,."-l iowever, are shaped vfor permitting-4'cotton'Which vis pulled' into fthe tube to? be moved rearwardly. and"to 4resist anyv movje. ment of the yc tton in the opposite direction.The-forward end of the tubekisalso provided with plurality of slots.which lare indicated-at 13 `in Figures 1 and 5. rThese slots l"are'.aligned Witlitheslots 8. ,A plurality fmovable rack membersllirisfalternately disposed betvvee'n(the racks -9. Tl'ielteeth-associated'withthe movable racks are identll Aa detail view of onel ofthe ln'iovable',:racks :and their Vassociated mechanism.; Since .all

Y of 'the movable racks are identicalv vin.' c o'n- .100

of screws or bolts 24.

structiomthe description at this time will be` during its movement..Sliding guide Imem.

bers 18 and 19 are disposed within the tube and associated with theslots 8and 13, `respectively. Y

In referring to Figure 7, it will be noted -that the guide member 18 isU shaped as at 20 for receiving a portion ofthe rack 14.

`Fishers-2l` may be disposed between the guide and the rack.` A,l pin 22passes through the guide, the washerskand the rack. The

latter is provided with a slot through lwhich the pin lpasses forpermitting a certain amount of longitudinal movement of the pin withrespect to the rack. I Y

The rack is also provided with a recess 23 within which a portion of theguide 18 is disposed which cooperates with the slot in the rack duringlongitudinal movement of the guidewith respect to the rack.v

4noted that the gripping member 71s opera'- In referring to Figures5 and7, it will be tively connected with the lguides 18 by means portionofeach of thel guides projects through the slots 8 for permitting thegripping member Vwhich has bearing contact upontthe `ribs 6 to beyconnected with the guides.

Let us again consider Figure 5. The guide ,19 projects through the slot13 andis partly disposed within a recess 25 which is formed .in the rack14. The recess is shown in detail inFigure 6. The rack is provided witha slot 26.through whicha pin 27 passes. The latter -is connected withthe guide 19. The guide member 18, see Figure 5,-is operativelyconnected with the guide 19 by means of bars 28 which are disposed upon`opposite sides of the rack 14. The rela-tion between the bars and theguides 18 and 19isshown in Figures 7 and 8.y Any movement ofthe grippingmember 7 will cause a relative movement of the guides 19 through themedium of the bars 28 which are connected with the guides 18.

In Figures 5 and 6 we have shown ar finger 29 as being operativelyVconnected with` the rack 14. A finger is associated with each of 'themoving racks. The nge-rs are identical 'in construction and thedescriptionof this` lpart of the device will also be'coniined toa unit.lThe finger is substantially' Ushaped in construction and is providedwith inclined 1edges 3() having progressively enlarged teeth'V 'fromfront to rear.. The finger shownin YFigures 5 and 6 is pivotally mountedat 31 upon the end of the sliding rack. The rack is slotted as at 32 forreceiving a pin 33 which passes through the finger. Thus it will be seenthat the finger may move in oscillatory path by reason of the pivot 31and the slot 32.

Y. The finger is operatively connected with the guide 19 through themedium of links 34. In referring to Figure 8, it will be noted that thepins 27 pass through the links for connecting the latter with theguides. The opposite ends of the links are operatively connected vwiththe fingers through the medium of the bolts. Thus it will be seen thatmovement ofthe bars 28 will cause an oscillatory movement of thefingers, the direction of movement depending upon the direction invwhich the gripping member 7 is moved. A movement of the gripping member7 in the vdirection of the flange 5 willcause the lingers .to be movedfrom thefull line position shown yin Figure 5 to the dotted'lineposition. When,

however, the gripping member 7 is moved in the opposite direction, thefingers will be moved in oppositezdirections; that is to say,

from the dotted, line position to the full line position.

, AIn Figures 2 and 4 we havefshown a plurality of lugs 35 which aresecured to the tube for supporting and guiding the movable racks and thebars. The sliding guide members 19 are connected with a ring 36 by meansVof screws or bolts 37. Thus it will be seen that vthe movable racks arerigidly tied together, but at the same time are mounted for movementsimultaneously as a unit.

, From the` foregoing description of the various parts of the device,the operation thereof may be readily understood. The tube is ofsufficient length to permit cotton to be picked from the plants withvaminimum amount of stooping Reciprocation of Vthe gripping member 7 willcause a movement of the iingers 29Y into and out of they end of thetube 1. vIn Figure 1 we have shown the fingers as projecting from thetube. The fingers so projectying are in their grasping positions. Atthis time the gripping member'7 has been moved `forwardly toits extremeposition. When the gripping member is moved rearwardly, the fingers 29move toward the longitudinal aXis of the tube 1 andinto the tube.

When the gripping member 7 has been moved rearwardly to its eXtremeposition, the lingers 29 will be entirely enclosed within the tube. Themovement of the fingers 30 about their axes 3l is determined by thelength of the slots 23 and 25. When the movable lracks are positioned asshown in Figure 5 and the gripping member 7 is moved rearwardly,`thefingers 29 will immediately begin their move- Yment from the fullVline'position to the dotted line position. Similarly, when the grippingVmember 7 is moved forwardly, the lingers will ment of the fingers fromthe tube, the spreading will be completed. Thus it will be seen that thefingers are positioned for grasping a ball of cotton, and, when thegripping member 7 is moved rearwardly, the cotton will be pulled intothe tube. As soon as the cotton reaches the interior of the tube, theteeth associated with the fixed racks will prevent the cotton from beingmoved outwardly when the lingers are being positioned for graspinganother ball. Each time the movable rac-ks are reciprocated, the cottonwithin the tube will be moved rearwardly a certain distance.

The gripping member 7 is rigidly connected with the guides 18 while thelatter are directly connected with the bars 28. These bars are in turnconnected with the guides 19 and they latter are connected with thelinks 34. The links are in turn connected with-the fingers 29. The racksla are slotted for receiving the pins 27, 28, and 33. For this reason,the fingers 29 are positively actuated at all times. The slots areproportioned in suchv a manner that the fingers may be positively movedfrom the full line position shown in Figure 5to the dotted line positionupon a slight movement of the gripping members 7 When the ngers are intheir expanded positions a slight movement rearwardly of the grippingmember 7 immediately moves the lingers from their eX- panded positionsto their contracted positions. A continued movement of the grippingmember shifts the movable racks rearwardly within the tube together withthe n` gers for shifting the cotton rearwardly with respect to thestationary racks.

Thus it will be seen that during the continued operation of the device,the cotton will finally be ejected from the rear end of the tube. Thisend is preferably connected with one of the sleeves 88 associated with abag 39 which may be carried by the operator of the device. Forconvenience, the bag may be provided with a bottom which is easilyopened, whereby when the bag is lled, the cotton may be removedtherefrom. Preferably, the bags should be provided with two sleeves sothat the device may be connected with either one of the sleeves,depending upon whether or not the operator is right-or left-handed.

In referring to Figure 7, it will be noted that the tubular member maybe opened, whereby all of the parts within the device are easilyaccessible. It will also be noted that the stationary and movable racksare soarranged that an equal number of these ele-l ments is associatedwitheach partof the tube when in its opened position.

One of the sections of the tube is providedv with a plurality of springmembers which are aligned with lugs carried by the-.otherv member. Theconstruction is such that when the two pieces are moved together thesections are locked together as shown in Figure 3. The springs aresuiiciently flexible'to permit the twompiecesl to be easily locked`togetherfand `at thesame time easily opened up as when repairing orinspecting the interior mechanism. Before the device isopfened up,however, .thering 36and thefgripping inein- A ber 7` are .removedfromthe tube. v In referring to Figure8 it will be noted thatthe ring-is providedwith recesses for -perniittingthe Y 'is of sufficientdiameter to permit tlie latter" .to be easily` removed.l The ribs 6, ofcourse,V

provide bearing surfaces for the gripping member. f

We claim:

y. .1. A cotton picking device lcomprising a l' tubular'memberconsisting of hinged together portions, movable and stationarycotton-moving elements longitudinally disposed within saidtubularmember, fngerineans associated with'the movable elements and arranged tobe moved for picking cotton and pulling the same within thetubularmember, andfrneans associated with the tubular member and operativelyconnected with the movable cottons movingelements for operating thesame. y

2. A cotton picking device comprising `a tubularfmember consisting ofhinged together portions, movable and stationary cotton-moving elementslongitudinally disposed within f said tubular member, finger meansassociated withkthe movable elements land arranged to 'bemoved forpicking cotton and pullingthe n `same within the tubular member, 'meansassociated with the tubular member Vand operatively connected with .themovable cottonmoving elements for operating the saine, and means forholding said hinged together portions securely together. v

3. Acotton picking device coinprisinga tubular meinberconsisting ofhingedtogether portions, movable and stationary cotton-moving elementslongitudinally disposed within `said tubular member, finger-meansassociated with the movable elements and arranged to be moved forpicking ,cotton and pulling the same-,within'the tubular .member, meansassociated with the tubular member and operatively connected with themovable cotton-moving elements for operating the same, ou.

`means `for holding said hinged together por.- tions securely together,and a receptacle associated with said tubular member for receivingcotton passing through the latter.

4. A cottonpicking device comprising an' elongatedtubular memberihavinga group of longitudinal slots provided near Yeach end, al plurality ofmovable cotton-moving elements ,longitudinally disposed within thetubular member and having means projecting through said slots, agrippingmember Adisposed upon the tubularinember andoperatively connected withthe means -proj ect-ing through one of said vgroups of slots, ringmeansdisposedupon the'. tubular member and i operatively connected withthe means projected through the other-of said groups of slots,stationary cotton-moving elements longitudinally disposed within thetubular mem- 'i H ber-and in operative relation ywith the movableelements, linger means movably connected with the movable elements andoperated when said gripping member is'moved for picking cotton andpulling the same within the tubular member and moving the cotton intoengagement with the movable and Astationary cotton-moving elements, anda receptacle operatively connected with one end ofthe tubular member forreceiving cotton passing through the device, said tubular membercomprising hinged together portions.

5. A cotton picking device comprising a Y Y hollow member havinglongitudinal slots therein, a plurality of longitudinally arrangedtoothed members rigidly connected with the hollow member upon theinterior thereof, a plurality ci longitudinally arranged movable toothedmembers alternately positioned between the lirst named toothed rmembers,cotton picking fingers pivotally Y members and fingersmay be moved whenthe fsb connected with adjacent endsof said movable toothed members, agripping member movably mounted upon said hollow member,

a plurality of bars, means extending through the slots in the hollowmember for operatively connecting said bars with the gripping member,and means operatively connecting the bars with the movable toothedmembers and lingers whereby said'movable toothed gripping member isactuated.

6. A device of the type described coniprsl ing a tubular member havingspaced-apart longitudinally arranged toothedv members fiXedlydisposedwithin the tubular member, longitudinally Varranged toothedmembers` movably disposed within the tubular member, said fixed toothedmembers and movable toothed members being alternately positioned,toothed lingers pivotally connected With adjacent ends of said movabletoothed members, an actuating v member slidably mounted on the tubularmember,bar members disposed within the tubular member', means `extendingthrough longitudinal slots in the tubular member for operativelyconnecting the bar member with the actuating member,

and means operatively connecting the bars with the movable toothedmembers and ingers whereby said movable toothedjinembers and fingers maybe moved when the gripping member is actuated, said toothed ifingersbeing adapted for being actuated prior to the actuating of the movabletoothedfmembeis. Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook, and kState ofIllinois, this 25th day of Sep-V tember, A; D. 1929. f

NORTON T. KESLER. l THEODORE FORBY.'

